Cooking apparatus.



No.866.386- PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907. J. L. REEVES; 0001mm APPARATUS.

AIPLIOATION FILED MAY 4, 1907.

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UNITED STATES JAMES L. REEVES, OF OOLLINSVILLE, ALABAMA.

COOKING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed May 4, 1907. Serial No. 371,879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMEs L. REEVES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Collinsville, in the county of Dekalb and State of Alabama, have invented a new and useful Cooking Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cooking and canning vegetables, fruits, and the like, on a large scale, and it has for its object to provide an improved apparatus of this character that is capable of efficiently heating or cooking on a large scale by a continuous process, embodying one or more cooking vessels adapted to receive the articles to be heated or cooked, and a water supply boiler wherein the water is heated to the proper degree before it is discharged into the cooking vessel so that the cooking operation is not interrupted while a fresh supply of water is being fed to the cooking vessel.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby the articles to be heated or cooked may be transferred to and from the cooking vessel or vessels, the

' more fully described and pointed out particularly in the claims appended hereto.

In the accompanying drawingz-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a cooking apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention. Fig. 2 represents a central vertical section of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

The apparatus shown in the present embodiment of my invention is especially adapted for use in cooking vegetables, fruits and other goods in cans, and it embodies, in the present instance, a furnace l which may be composed of sheet metal in case the apparatus is to be portable, or it may be composed of fire brick walls, as shown, a combustion chamber 2 being formed in the furnace in either case and a grate 3 or other support for the heating medium being arranged within the combustion chamber, doors 4 and 5 being arranged in the end of the furnace and providing means of access for the combustion chamber and ash pit therein.

Mounted in the top of the furnace are the cooking vessels, a pair 6 and 7 being employed in the present instance, although it will be understood, of course, that any desired number may be employed. These heating vessels may be of any desired shape, those shown in the present instance being substantially cylindrical, closed at the bottom, and projecting through the roof of the furnace, so that the heated gases may reach them and maintain the water therein at the boiling point. These heating vessels are preferably arranged in that end of the furnace wherein the grate or fire box is located, and in the opposite end of the furnace is mounted a boiler 8 which is employed for heating the Water preparatory to being fed into the cooking vessels, the boiler shown in the present instance embodying an outer shell and a central flue 9, the latter being preferably conical and having its wider end arranged at the bottom of the boiler and serving to conduct the heated gases, smoke, and other products of combustion, through the boiler, the expanded form of the flue providing a relatively large heating surface that will serve to readily raise the temperature of the water to the boiling point, a stack 10 being provided on the top of the flue, if so desired, for the purpose of producing a draft.

The cooking vessel 6 is connected to the boiler by means of a pipe 11 having a controlling valve 12 therein, and the cooking vessel 7 is connected to the boiler by means of a second pipe 13 having a controlling valve 14, the supply of water in the respective vessels being replenished as may be necessary from time to time by opening the respective valves in the connecting pipes.

In order to facilitate the handling of the goods prior and subsequent to the cooking operation, it is preferable to employ a crane, the latter embodying, in the present instance, a mast 15 arranged vertically and having its ends suitably supported so as to permit rotation thereof on a vertical axis, and projecting radially from the mast is a crane arm 16 having a pulley 17 at its outer end over which the hoisting cable 18 passes, the mast being preferably mounted at a point midway between the vessels so that the outer end of the crane arm will rest above the centers of the vessels as it is turned in opposite directions.

The free end of the cable is provided with a hook 19 adapted to detachably engage the bails or handles 20 which are attached to a crate or basket 21, the opposite end of the rope or cable being wound upon a drum 22 which is journaled between the bearing members 23 on the mast and is provided with a crank 24 by means of which it may be operated.

The crate or basket may be constructed in different ways according to the form of the goods to be cooked, that shown in the present instance being adapted to receive the goods in cans and it is composed of an open-work structure that will permit the escape of the water therefrom as it is withdrawn from the vessel.

In performing a canning or cooking process with an apparatus constructed as hereinbefore described, the goods to be treated are placed in the crate or basket attached to the crane cable while the crane is turned to clear both of the vessels, and after the crane arm has been turned until the pulley on the end thereof is directly over the center of the vessel, the crate or basket is lowered until the goods are submerged in the Water contained in the vessel. As the process is carried on, the Water evaporated from the vessels is replenished from the boiler through their respective connecting pipes, a suitable fire being maintained in the fin'nace that Will keep the Water in the vessels boiling, and before escaping from the furnace serves to heat the feed Water contained in the boiler.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination with a furnace having a combustion chamber at one end thereof, of a pair of cooking vessels fitted into the top of the furnace and having their lower ends projecting into the combustion chamber, a boiler also fitted into the top of the furnace and arranged in alinement with the said vessels and at the end of the furnace opposite to the combustion chamber, a flue extending through the boiler and communicating at its lower end with the combustion chamber of the furnace, and devices capable of being controlled independently for conducting water from the boiler to the respective vessels.

2. In a cooking apparatus, the combination with a furnace having a fire-box at one end, of a water supply boiler mounted in the end of the furnace opposite to the firebox thereof and having an exit flue extending therethrough, the flue being expanded at its lower end and contracted at its upper end, a cooking vessel mounted in the furnace toward the firebox thereof and exposed to the heat thereof, a pipe connecting the boiler and vessel, and a valve for controlling the flow of water through said pipe.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, the com-, bination with a furnace, of a pair of cooking vessels mounted therein and exposed to the heat of the furnace, a hot Water supply boiler also mounted in the furnace and having a flue extending centrally therethrough and communicating with the combustion chamber thereof, independent pipe connections between the hot water supply boiler and the respective vessels, and means for inde pendently regulating the amount of water discharged from the boiler into the respective vessels.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES L. REEVES.

Witnesses:

D. C. CHITWOOD, J. B. HAMRIC. 

